Knowing How the Story Ends

I think that it isn't such a bad thing to know how a story goes before you read or watch it.

This goes against one of the main methods Hollywood uses to keep making money, because one of the most common reasons people choose to watch a film is that they want to know the story. What happens? How does it end? This is particularly true of sequels where the audience has already been emotionally hooked to one or more characters.



But knowing the end of a story isn't a new idea, it's a very old one. Shakespeare's plays, of which 'Romeo and Juliet' is the most famous example, often began with a monologue by a narrator who outlined the entire story. Or, going back further in history, some ancient cultures used oral story-telling as the main method of passing on information. In these cases, the story would be told to the growing generation every year, if not far more frequently, so that memory by repetition was developed. There was no pretence of not knowing who would be alive at the end of the story, the whole aim would be to already know every detail of the plot.

If our culture suddenly decided that we were bored of stories that only entertained us by using mystery, what might be the impact on the film industry? I imagine it to be a positive one. The measure for how good a story is would not be whether it ended in a satisfying way, but whether it was told well throughout. To gain an appreciative audience, a film would need to be filled with good quality story telling from the start.

I have focused on the film industry in particular because other narrative mediums still make deliberate use of spoilers. When you go to a Theatre performance in England, part of the written material you can read while you wait for the performance to start is the plot outline. A narrator has the luxury of sparing his voice in a country where the literacy level is high. Knowing the plot before the performance is also quite useful if, for example, you will be watching an opera. In an opera, all dialogue is sung, sometimes in a language other than your native one, and being prepared with an idea of who is doing what can be helpful if you wish to stay engaged with the acting!

There is definitely a place for mystery in stories. The 'whodunnit' genre would be missed, and various directors such as M. Night Shyamalan have created some good quality films that, even when the twist at the end of the tale is know, are still enjoyable to watch again and again. But I would recommend trying to approach a film differently to how Hollywood intends: Before going to see a new film, find the outline of the story on a website such as Wikipedia, and see whether you enjoy the film in the same way.